Upcoming Project Information

City of Akron Press Release
From the desk of Stephanie York
Published: 12-05-2014

AKRON ENGINEERING BUREAU

UPCOMING PROJECT INFORMATION

SUM - SR 59 Akron Innerbelt

IN THE CITY of AKRON, SUMMIT COUNTY

Project Purpose and Location:

In order to provide growth opportunities for businesses including Children’s Hospital and Akron General Medical Center, and provide convenient safe transportation to and within the City’s downtown, the City of Akron is proposing the re-purposing Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (also known as State Route 59) and upgrading the surrounding urban arterials (Dart Avenue and Rand Avenue). The project will reconstruct Dart Avenue, Rand Avenue and MLK Jr. Blvd between Exchange Street on the south and Howard Street/North Main Street to the north, an overall project length of 0.9 miles, more or less.

The SR 59 corridor has the highest crash ranked segment in the entire AMATS study area and the MLK Jr. Blvd / N Main Street / Howard Street intersection is the highest crash ranked intersection in the entire AMATS study area. Upon completion of the project, the corridor will provide a safer roadway system through this area.

Proposed Improvements:

The City of Akron’s Innerbelt (SR 59 mainline) is a limited access facility connecting I-76/77 to the south, west and north sides of downtown Akron. The current volume of traffic is approximately 17,760 vehicles per day, while this segment of highway was originally designed for over 120,000 vehicles per day. The project is essentially a road diet in which the limited access freeway between the above termini will be removed with traffic rerouted onto Dart Avenue and Rand Avenue. Both streets will continue to operate as a one-way pair; Dart Avenue for northbound traffic and Rand Avenue for the southbound traffic.

All roadways will be full depth reconstructed with new water mains and storm water drainage systems. Sanitary sewers will be repaired and rehabilitated as needed. Amenities will include new street lighting, street trees and decorative concrete sidewalks. Construction will be sequenced to maintain adequate access to the hospitals and major employers in the downtown area at all times. Construction is scheduled for March 2016 thru November 2017.

Total Construction cost is estimated at $12,650,000, of which the City of Akron’s partnerships with AMATS and ODOT have contributed $5,000,000 and $1,200,000 respectively. In addition, the City recently received $3,000,000 in Federal Safety monies and will request additional local and State monies to fund the remaining portion.

Additional information will be provided by representatives of the City of Akron, Ohio Department of Transportation and the design consultant at an open house format Public Involvement Meeting to be held on December 18, 2014 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the Akron – Summit County Public Library, located at 60 South High Street, Akron, Ohio, 44326. Written comments, or questions, may be submitted during the public involvement meeting, or may be mailed by January 7th, 2015 to: